It is a Very Good Time to be a Software Developer

It is a very good time to be a software developer. Jobs are plentiful. Demand is high. Salaries are going up and companies are adding perks. If you are thinking of becoming a software developer or to sharpen your skills if you are a developer already, you should be motivated to do so. Why it is a good time to be a software developer? Here are some facts:

If you are in Silicon Valley, that list may seem “so five years ago”. The fact it is now common all over America is the amazing part. What is more amazing is we are barely getting started. Consider the following:

While high-tech manufacturing is gaining ground, the number of sensors and electronic monitors in a manufacturing facility is still very low. Imagine manufacturing environments with thousands of data sensors.

A luxury car in 2017 has about 100M lines of code and expected to grow to 200M – 300M soon.

There are numerous corporate software packages that were originally built 10-25 years ago that have been modernized for the web, but not mobile. Billions of dollars are invested in these and billions more are still being paid in support fees. There are many better ways to deliver the solutions.

Big Data is still in its infancy. MBA programs are just now beginning to offer degrees in data analytics.

While we hear a lot about Internet of Things, most people struggle to think of 10 items that can be connected. Here is a list of over 100 consumer items.

While the consumer list of IoT is sexy and great for CES, the industrial concepts can drive the economy more.

The connecting thread with all of the above – everything will be software driven. Predicting the need for software developers now is like predicting the size of the internet in 2001.